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Lessons learned from Cardinals’ 19-0 loss to Pirates

Posted in Games, Hitters, Opponents, Pitchers, Records on August 10, 2012| 4 Comments »

Be careful not to tip your pitches and don’t let a blowout loss keep you down.

Those were among the lessons learned by the 1961 Cardinals after a humiliating loss to the Pirates.

The Pirates beat the Cardinals, 19-0, on Aug. 3, 1961, at St. Louis. It’s the most lopsided shutout loss in Cardinals history. Until then, the only other National League game decided by a 19-0 score was the Cubs’ victory over the Giants on June 7, 1906, according to The Sporting News.

Pittsburgh had 24 hits against three Cardinals right-handers: Al Cicotte, Bob Miller and Lindy McDaniel. Each of the nine Pirates in the starting lineup, including pitcher Harvey Haddix, had at least one hit.

“Some of our pitchers were tipping their pitches,” Cardinals manager Johnny Keane said to the Associated Press. “We were watching them closely after (the Pirates) got a big lead and we could call almost every pitch. Maybe the Pirates could, too.”

Cicotte, making the last start of a five-year big-league career, yielded eight runs in two innings. Miller gave up nine runs in three innings. McDaniel surrendered two runs, but shut out the Pirates over the last three innings.

Among the most notable Pittsburgh hitting achievements that Thursday night at Busch Stadium:

_ Roberto Clemente had hits in each of his first five at-bats. He finished 5-for-6, improving his league-leading batting average to .366, 24 points higher than the next-best hitter, Frank Robinson of the Reds.

“This is just one of those years when the balls are falling in for hits,” Clemente said. “I’m less tense this season than ever before. I can relax better at the plate.”

_ Smoky Burgess had two home runs (both off Cicotte) and six RBI. The homers were the first by Burgess since June 22.

“This is the first time in almost six weeks I’ve been able to pull the ball,” Burgess said. “I know now I tried to play too soon after I hurt my finger late in June. Everything is fine now.”

_ Dick Stuart hit a grand slam off Miller and finished with five RBI.

_ Bill Mazeroski, the eighth-place batter, had four hits.

_ Three Pirates, Don Hoak, Bill Virdon and Bob Skinner, each had three hits. All of Skinner’s hits were doubles.

Pittsburgh, the defending World Series champion, broke a five-game losing streak with the victory. Boxscore

“I can’t help thinking we’d be in the first division if you could spread those runs around a little,” Pirates manager Danny Murtaugh said.

The loss dropped the Cardinals to 48-53.

In a classic example of the power of perserverance, the Cardinals followed the blowout loss with an eight-game winning streak, turning around their season. The Cardinals were 20-9 in August and finished the season at 80-74.

Among the wins in that streak: a shutout of Pittsburgh. On Aug. 9, six days after the Pirates scored 19, Curt Simmons and Ed Bauta combined for a seven-hitter in St. Louis’ 4-0 victory.

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Whiteyball: Willie McGee at short, Ricky Horton in right

Posted in Games, Hitters, Managers, Opponents, Pitchers on August 6, 2012| Leave a Comment »

(Updated Aug. 7, 2018)

Imagine a Cardinals lineup of Willie McGee at shortstop, Ricky Horton in right field and Jose Oquendo on the mound.

Manager Whitey Herzog could.

In 1987, during a blowout loss to the Phillies, Herzog made all of those unusual moves. He also batted Oquendo for Jack Clark and used John Tudor as a pinch-hitter with two runners on base.

On Aug. 7, 1987, the Cardinals were in first place in the National League East Division, but on that Friday night at Philadelphia’s Veterans Stadium the Phillies grabbed control early, scoring seven runs in the first two innings off Joe Magrane.

In the fifth inning, with the Phillies ahead 12-1, St. Louis had runners on first and second, two outs, when Herzog lifted Clark, the Cardinals’ slugging first baseman, for Oquendo.

Oquendo struck out against Phillies starter Shane Rawley and stayed in the game, replacing Ozzie Smith at shortstop.

In the eighth, Philadelphia led 12-4 and St. Louis had runners on first and third with one out. Reliever Bill Dawley was due to bat against Kent Tekulve, the Phillies’ sidearm-throwing right-hander. Herzog instead sent another pitcher, Tudor, a left-handed batter, to face Tekulve.

Tudor, a career .154 hitter, grounded into an inning-ending 4-6-3 double play, lost his balance as he tried to beat the relay throw and fell. “He runs down the line like a damn nut,” Herzog said to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Things got even more strange.

Needing a pitcher to replace Dawley for the bottom of the eighth, Herzog turned to his shortstop. Oquendo already had played every position except pitcher and catcher in 1987.

To replace Oquendo in the infield, Herzog moved his center fielder, Willie McGee, to shortstop. The right fielder, John Morris, moved to center. That left the Cardinals without a right fielder. So Herzog put pitcher Ricky Horton in that spot.

It would be the only times in their big-league careers McGee would play shortstop and Horton would appear in the outfield.

Two balls were hit to right field. Both carried over the head of the harried Horton. The first, by Glenn Wilson, was ruled a double and drove in a run. The second was a single by Lance Parrish that scored Wilson.

“Horton played what must be described as periscope outfield,” the Post-Dispatch reported. “He would take two steps and watch from afar as the ball sailed over his head.”

“Some outfielders shy away from the walls,” Horton said to The Sporting News. “I just happened to shy away 30 yards from it.”

After watching the spectacle from the mound, Oquendo said, “I could have got out of the inning. We need better outfielders.”

Said Horton: “I apologized to Jose, but the good thing is I didn’t get anybody hurt, including myself.”

McGee handled his defensive chores at shortstop skillfully. With a runner on first, Milt Thompson grounded to McGee, who fielded the ball and threw to second for the forceout. Later in the inning, with Parrish at first, Steve Jeltz grounded to first baseman Jim Lindeman, who threw to McGee covering second for the forceout.

Oquendo surrendered three runs on four hits and a walk in his inning of relief work. He also hit a batter, his friend and fellow Puerto Rican Luis Aguayo.

“The best pitch he threw was when he hit the guy,” umpire Joe West said to the Post-Dispatch.

Before facing his first batter, Oquendo told catcher Steve Lake he could throw six different types of pitches. After his outing, Oquendo quipped, “He called the wrong pitches.”

Lake good-naturedly replied, “He says he’s got six pitches. I call fastball and he says, ‘Yeah.’ I call another fastball. ‘Yeah.’ Then I call something else. He says, ‘No.’ ”

(Oquendo would pitch for the Cardinals in two more games, one in 1988 and the other in 1991. He went four innings in 1988 against the Braves and took the loss in a 19-inning game won by Atlanta, 7-5.)

After the debacle in Philadelphia, a 15-5 Phillies win that broke a six-game losing streak, Herzog told the Associated Press, “In 162 games, you’ll have one like this.” Boxscore

Previously: How Andy Van Slyke amazed Jose Oquendo

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September hot streak carried 1982 Cardinals to title

Posted in Games, Hitters, Pitchers on August 3, 2012| Leave a Comment »

An eight-game winning streak over seven days in mid-September broke open a tight division race and propelled the Cardinals to their first National League East title in 1982. From there, St. Louis swept the Braves in the league championship series and defeated the Brewers in a seven-game World Series.

On Sept. 14, the 1982 Cardinals were at a critical point in their season. In losing 2-0 the night before to Philadelphia and ex-Cardinal Steve Carlton, St. Louis had slipped out of first place, a half-game behind the Phillies. Boxscore

With two more to play at Philadelphia before heading to New York for a five-game series, including back-to-back twi-night doubleheaders, against the Mets, the Cardinals appeared to be in jeopardy of falling farther behind.

Instead, buoyed by spectacular pitching (including starts from a Mexican League retread and a 43-year-old left-hander), the Cardinals regrouped and won the next eight in a row from Sept. 14 through Sept. 20. The streak placed the Cardinals comfortably into first place, 5.5 games ahead of Philadelphia.

During the streak against the Phillies and the Mets, the Cardinals held their opponents to seven total runs in winning eight, seven on the road.

Here is how it happened:

_ Sept. 14 at Philadelphia, Cardinals 2, Phillies 0: Backed by catcher Darrell Porter’s two-run home run, John Stuper (7.1 innings) and Bruce Sutter combined on the shutout. In the eighth inning, with the bases loaded, Sutter got third baseman Mike Schmidt to bounce into an inning-ending double play.

“The eighth and ninth innings belonged to me,” Sutter said to the Associated Press. Boxscore

_ Sept. 15 at Philadelphia, Cardinals 8, Phillies 0: Joaquin Andujar, overcoming a bruised right knee, retired the first 12 batters and finished with a three-hit shutout, his fifth of the season. Right fielder George Hendrick drove in four runs, two with sacrifice flies.

“We still have a long way to go … We have to beat everybody, not just Philadelphia,” Andujar said to United Press International. Boxscore

_ Sept. 17 at New York, Game 1, Cardinals 3, Mets 2: Eric Rasmussen, who spent most of the season with Yucatan in the Mexican League, joined the Cardinals in September. Making his first big-league start since 1980, Rasmussen held the Mets to four hits and two runs in seven innings. Sutter relieved and pitched three scoreless innings for the win.

In the 10th, rookie center fielder Willie McGee doubled, driving in first baseman Keith Hernandez from second with the winning run. Boxscore

_ Sept. 17 at New York, Game 2, Cardinals 7, Mets 1: Steve Mura (5.2 innings) started and earned the win, his last as a Cardinal and his first in more than a month. Doug Bair pitched 3.1 innings of scoreless relief.

After sweeping a doubleheader started by the unlikely duo of Rasmussen and Mura, manager Whitey Herzog told the Associated Press, “My pitching has been good this year. I have no complaints.” Boxscore

_ Sept. 18 at New York, Game 1, Cardinals 2, Mets 0: Bob Forsch (7.1 innings) and Bruce Sutter combined on the shutout. David Green, getting the start in center field, hit a fourth-inning home run off ex-Cardinal Pete Falcone. Boxscore

_ Sept. 18 at New York, Game 2, Cardinals 6, Mets 2: Jim Kaat, 43, got the start, his first since June and the 625th and last of his major-league career. Kaat went three innings and limited the Mets to a run, a solo homer by catcher Bruce Bochy. Jeff Lahti pitched the last six innings for the win. Boxscore

_ Sept. 19 at New York, Cardinals 3, Mets 1: Stuper (6.1) innings and Bair combined on another gem, completing the five-game sweep.

“I never figured on taking all five,” Herzog said to the Associated Press. “Maybe three, possibly four, but never five.” Boxscore

_ Sept. 20 at St. Louis, Cardinals 4, Phillies 1: Hendrick’s two-run double during a three-run fifth knocked out ex-Cardinal John Denny. Boxscore

Seven days later, the Cardinals clinched the division championship with a 4-2 victory over the Expos at Montreal. Boxscore

The 1982 Cardinals received several outstanding individual performances in September. Among the best:

_ Andujar, 5-0 record, 0.81 ERA.

_ Bair, 2 saves, 1.65 ERA.

_ Hendrick, .341 batting average, .383 on-base percentage, 17 RBI.

_ Hernandez, .333 batting average, .438 on-base percentage, 13 RBI.

_ Sutter, 6 saves, 2.04 ERA.

Previously: Jim Kaat interview: 1982 Cardinals were most close-knit club

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Double disaster for Cards and ‘Wild Elk of the Wasatch’

Posted in Games, Opponents, Pitchers, Records on August 1, 2012| Leave a Comment »

A record-setting hitting performance by the Braves knocked the 1936 Cardinals out of first place. Seventy-six years later, the 2012 Cardinals matched the Braves’ feat of hitting seven doubles in an inning.

On July 21, 2012, six Cardinals collected seven doubles in a 12-run seventh inning of a 12-0 victory over the Cubs at St. Louis. Allen Craig, who appeared as a pinch-hitter in the inning, hit a pair of doubles. Carlos Beltran, Jon Jay, David Freese, Skip Schumaker and Matt Holliday hit one double apiece. The seven doubles were hit against three Cubs relievers, James Russell, Manny Corpas and Rafael Dolis. Boxscore

The 1936 Braves were unlikely candidates to establish the standard of seven doubles in an inning. They would finish the season with the lowest batting average in the National League and would rank last among the eight teams in doubles.

On the morning of Aug. 25, 1936, the Cardinals and Giants were tied for first place in the NL, each with a 72-46 record. The Cardinals had a doubleheader against the Braves that Tuesday afternoon at St. Louis. The Giants were facing the Reds.

In the opener, the Cardinals started Si Johnson, who had been acquired from the Reds on Aug. 6. The Braves pounded Johnson for eight runs, seven hits and a walk in the first inning. He recorded only two outs before being lifted for Ed Heusser, the Cardinals’ top reliever in 1936.

Three Braves _ Gene Moore, Buck Jordan and Tony Cuccinello _ hit two doubles apiece in the first inning. Shortstop Rabbit Warstler accounted for the other.

With Boston ahead 11-0 after a half inning, Cardinals manager Frankie Frisch decided to stay with Heusser. Nicknamed “The Wild Elk of the Wasatch” for the mountain range in his native Utah, Heusser gave up 12 runs on 18 hits and four walks in 8.1 innings. Moore and Jordan each had five hits and five RBI in the Braves’ 20-3 victory. Boxscore

In the second game, St. Louis, behind ace Dizzy Dean, led 4-1 through five innings, but the Braves rallied and tied the score. In the ninth, Si Johnson, the Game 1 starter, relieved Dean. He yielded a RBI-single to Jordan and the Braves won, 5-4. Johnson was the losing pitcher in both games.

Coupled with the Giants’ 13th win in a row, a 6-5 victory over the Reds, St. Louis fell 1.5 games behind New York. The Giants went on to win the pennant, finishing five games ahead of the Cardinals and Cubs, who tied for second place.

Johnson and Heusser both recovered from their thumpings by the Braves.

Four days after losing both games of the doubleheader, Johnson pitched a complete-game shutout against the Phillies. Boxscore He finished 5-3 with a 4.38 ERA for the 1936 Cardinals.

Heusser was 7-3 with a 5.43 ERA in 42 appearances for the 1936 Cardinals. Eight years later, as a starter for the Reds, his 2.38 ERA led the NL.

Previously: Baseball and romance: Cardinals’ Cuban adventures

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Alan Benes had hard luck in big strikeout effort

Posted in Games, Pitchers on June 25, 2012| Leave a Comment »

The similarities between Lance Lynn and Alan Benes are striking.

Lynn, a Cardinals right-hander and Indiana native who turned 25 in 2012, struck out at least 11 batters in consecutive games that year.

Benes, a Cardinals right-hander and Indiana native who turned 25 in 1997, struck out at least 11 batters in consecutive games that year.

Lynn became the first Cardinals pitcher since Benes to strike out at least 11 in consecutive games.

One area where they differed, though, was in the results of those back-to-back high-strikeout games.

Lynn got wins in both _ he struck out 11 in six innings in the Cardinals’ 14-2 victory over the Astros at Houston on June 7, 2012, Boxscore and followed that with a 12-strikeout performance in 7.1 innings in the Cardinals’ 1-0 victory over the White Sox at St. Louis on June 13. Boxscore

Benes got the win when he struck out 11 in six innings in the Cardinals’ 8-3 victory over the Padres at San Diego on June 11, 1997. Benes was even better in his next start, June 16 against the Brewers. Like Lynn, it involved a 1-0 game, but Benes wasn’t as fortunate.

In a duel of power pitchers, Benes was matched against Ben McDonald in the first interleague game at Milwaukee’s County Stadium. (The Brewers, now with the Cardinals in the National League Central Division, then were members of the American League.)

Both starters were sharp. McDonald struck out 12 in eight innings before being lifted for Bob Wickman. When Brewers second baseman Mark Loretta struck out leading off the bottom of the ninth, it was the 11th strikeout recorded by Benes. (Among his other strikeout victims that night was Brewers catcher Mike Matheny.)

At that point, Benes had yielded three hits, all singles, in the scoreless game.

Jeromy Burnitz, the Brewers’ strapping left-handed batter, then stepped to the plate. Benes got ahead of the count with a fastball on the outside corner. Benes’ next pitch was similar to the first _ but this time Burnitz was ready. He crushed the thigh-high fastball 410 feet to straightaway center field for a walkoff home run and 1-0 Brewers victory. Boxscore

“It wasn’t a bad pitch to a lot of guys, but to Burnitz in that situation, it wasn’t a great pitch,” Benes told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “He’s a guy who likes to take the fastball away from you, and I had done a good job of changing speeds against him all day.”

Said Burnitz: “I knew it had a chance because I smoked it. I was excited. I’d never hit a game-winning home run before.”

The ninth-inning setback in a scoreless game was the second Benes experienced within a month. On May 16, Benes held the Braves hitless for 8.2 innings in Atlanta until Michael Tucker doubled. The Braves won, 1-0, in the 13th against reliever John Frascatore. Boxscore

Asked how his effort against the Brewers rated with his performance against the Braves, Benes replied, “Comparable stuff, or at least close.”

A week earlier, Cardinals manager Tony La Russa had told Rick Hummel for The Sporting News that Benes was as good as any young pitcher in baseball. The Brewers were believers.

“That guy has got great stuff,” Burnitz said of Benes.

Said Milwaukee manager Phil Garner: “We were duly impressed by him. It’s OK if we don’t see him again until next year.”

Previously: Near no-hitter by Alan Benes became crushing loss

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How Mort Cooper pitched 2 straight 1-hitters for Cards

Posted in Games, Pitchers on June 22, 2012| 1 Comment »

Early in the 1943 season, a report circulated that Mort Cooper, ace of the Cardinals’ rotation, had a sore arm. A few weeks later, The Sporting News claimed “warm weather brought the (arm) around.”

Whatever the explanation, Cooper recovered and became the only Cardinal to pitch one-hitters in consecutive complete-game starts.

Cooper’s back-to-back one-hitters occurred five years after the Reds’ Johnny Vander Meer became the only big-league pitcher to toss consecutive no-hitters.

On Memorial Day, May 31, 1943, Cooper held the Dodgers to one hit in the Cardinals’ 7-0 victory in the opener of a doubleheader at St. Louis.

Billy Herman got the lone Dodgers hit. Herman’s double to start the fifth inning was “a high, twisting two-bagger just inside the foul line,” United Press reported, and it fell beyond the reach of right fielder Stan Musial.

Herman, who also walked, and Augie Galan, who walked twice, were the only Dodgers baserunners. Cooper struck out two and improved his record to 5-3. His brother, catcher Walker Cooper, and Musial drove in two runs apiece. Boxscore

“If Cooper still has a sore arm,” wrote Hugh Fullerton Jr. of the Associated Press, “manager Billy Southworth probably wishes that all his other pitchers would go out and get one just like it.”

Four nights later, June 4, 1943, at St. Louis, Cooper held the Phillies hitless for seven innings and settled for a one-hitter in the Cardinals’ 5-0 victory.

Jimmy Wasdell of the Phillies opened the eighth by lining a single to left. Pinky May, who reached on an error by Cooper and was erased on a double play, was the only other Phillies baserunner. Cooper struck out five in a game that took 1:42 to complete. Boxscore

Jack Cuddy of United Press described why Cooper was so effective:

“Mort can provide the pitch that’s needed at a proper time _ fastball, screwball, forkball or curve. His fastball is the most effective pitch. This is blurred lightning, with a hop at the end. But to southpaw batsmen, he feeds screwballs, keeping them on the outside so that they can’t be pulled to right field.

“Right-handed hitters get the fastball and the forkball. The latter approaches the plate in drunken fashion, like a knuckler’s butterfly pitch. It’s almost impossible to smack the ‘fork’ solidly. In addition, Mort has unusual control. With a 3-and-2 count on the batsman, he can produce a feint or an actual in the strike zone that forces (1) a waiting called strike or (2) a whiff.”

In his start after the second one-hitter, Cooper pitched another complete game and earned the win in the Cardinals’ 4-3 victory over the Pirates on June 9, 1943, at St. Louis. The Pirates got seven hits, two apiece by Vince DiMaggio and pitcher Rip Sewell. Boxscore

Helping the Cardinals win their second consecutive pennant, Cooper, 30, finished 1943 with a 21-8 record and 2.30 ERA. He had six shutouts and 24 complete games among his 32 starts.

His back-to-back gems in 1943 were the only one-hitters of his major-league career.

 

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